Upper Yoder Township planners tighten proposed rules for solar farms | News | tribdem.com

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Some of the 1,900 solar panels located on the former softball field at Greater Johnstown Career & Technology Center, Friday, March 22, 2024.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Upper Yoder Township Planning Commission on Tuesday tightened proposed amendments to the township’s zoning ordinance for regulating solar development.

The commission removed a section from the draft ordinance that would have exempted geographically isolated solar farms from regulation.

The first draft of the amended zoning ordinance, based on templates from other municipalities, would have made solar farms that are planned to be 1,000 feet from a neighboring property exempt from regulations.

However, taking advice from zoning and codes officer Mark Walker, the commission removed that exemption – making all solar arrays larger than 50 by 50 feet subject to regulations of the proposed ordinance, regardless of their distance from neighboring properties.

Those regulations include gaining approval from the township’s zoning hearing board to build a solar farm, abiding by stormwater management plans and covering the cost to restore the land after the solar farm ceases operation.

“If you give somebody that (1,000-foot buffer) exemption, all of a sudden you might have a five-square-mile solar farm shining at us from the top of the mountain because it’s exempt,” Walker said. “That would be my concern.”

Commission members Roy Shaffer, Ed Berkhammer, Chairman Kevin Evans, Jack Goss and Tom Polacek unanimously agreed to remove the exemption, as well as to include language ensuring that land restoration agreements transfer to new owners if a solar farm is sold.

Some exemptions remain in the proposed ordinance.

For example, if mounted on a building, an array could be larger than 50 feet by 50 feet and be exempt from regulations.

The regulations pertain to solar companies wanting to build utility-scale solar farms, as well as groups of landowners who might come together to build a system to serve all their individual houses or businesses.

“If someone had a single-family home and wanted to put a 50-by-50 area up, and only service their house, then that would require a regular building permit,” Walker said. “There’s no review by the zoning hearing board, no decommissioning requirements – it’s just an accessory to their single-family dwelling.”

There are no solar farms yet built in the township, but Walker said he has received one general inquiry from an interested developer.

The proposed ordinance comes as solar companies are increasingly eyeing land for solar development to add clean energy, as promoted by the state government, to existing power grids.

The commission’s revisions of the proposed amended ordinance will be sent to the Upper Yoder Township Board of Supervisors for further review before it is adopted.

Russ O'Reilly is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @RussellOReilly.

The Upper Yoder Township Board of Supervisors is drawing up an ordinance to regulate potential solar farm development.

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